The Little Ice Age history of the Glacier des Bossons

Transcription

Climatic Change (2012) 111:301–334
DOI 10.1007/s10584-011-0130-9
The Little Ice Age history of the Glacier des Bossons
(Mont Blanc massif, France): a new high-resolution
glacier length curve based on historical documents
Samuel U. Nussbaumer · Heinz J. Zumbühl
Received: 25 June 2010 / Accepted: 27 May 2011 / Published online: 28 June 2011
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011
Abstract Historical and proxy records document that there is a substantial asynchronous development in temperature, precipitation and glacier variations between
European regions during the last few centuries. The causes of these temporal
anomalies are yet poorly understood. Hence, highly resolved glacier reconstructions
based on historical evidence can give valuable insights into past climate, but they
exist only for few glaciers worldwide. Here, we present a new reconstruction of
length changes for the Glacier des Bossons (Mont Blanc massif, France), based
on unevaluated historical material. More than 250 pictorial documents (drawings,
paintings, prints, photographs, maps) as well as written accounts have been critically
analysed, leading to a revised picture of the glacier’s history, especially from the mideighteenth century up to the 1860s. Very important are the drawings by Jean-Antoine
Linck, Samuel Birmann and Eugène Viollet-le Duc, which depict meticulously the
glacier’s extent during the vast advance and subsequent retreat during the nineteenth
century. The new glacier reconstruction extends back to AD 1580 and proves maxima
of the Glacier des Bossons around 1610/1643, 1685, 1712, 1777, 1818, 1854, 1892, 1921,
1941, and 1983. The Little Ice Age maximum extent was reached in 1818. Until the
present, the glacier has lost about 1.5 km in length, and it is now shorter than at any
time during the reconstruction period. The Glacier des Bossons reacts faster than
the nearby Mer de Glace (glacier reconstruction back to AD 1570 available). The
Mont Blanc area is, together with the valley of Grindelwald in the Swiss Alps (two
historical glacier reconstructions available back to AD 1535, and 1590, respectively),
among the two regions that are probably best-documented in the world regarding
historical glacier data.
S. U. Nussbaumer (B) · H. J. Zumbühl
Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research,
University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
e-mail: [email protected]
S. U. Nussbaumer
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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1 Introduction
Mountains and their environments are highly sensitive indicators of climate variability over decadal to centennial time scales. In particular, and corresponding to global
trends in temperature, glaciers have retreated significantly since the mid-nineteenth
century (e.g., Paul et al. 2004; Oerlemans 2005; IPCC 2007). By the year 2000, Alpine
glaciers had lost almost 50% of their total area since 1850, and a continuation or even
acceleration of the glacier retreat may soon lead to conditions without historical
or even Holocene comparability (Zemp et al. 2006). Detailed knowledge about
past glacier variations allows assessing these ongoing changes. In this context, the
understanding of the Little Ice Age (LIA), the period lasting a few centuries between
the Middle Ages and the warming of the first half of the twentieth century (Pfister
1999; Grove 2004), is important.
Glaciers react sensitively to climate, which in turn is determined by external
forcing factors as well as the internal variability of the system (Wanner et al. 2008).
The glacier mass balance is mainly affected by winter precipitation and summer
temperature (Oerlemans and Reichert 2000), but temperature and precipitation
patterns in other seasons can be essential for particular glacier advances and retreats
(Steiner et al. 2008a).
Surface mass balance directly reflects climatic variations. Glacier length on
the other hand is an indirect, filtered and delayed signal of climate information
(Oerlemans 2001). Glacier length fluctuations can easily be measured, and corresponding continuous records exist since the end of the nineteenth century (e.g.,
Gletscherberichte (1881–2009) for the Swiss Alps, Mougin (1912) for the Mont Blanc
massif). It has been used to reconstruct glacier mass balance (Haeberli and Hoelzle
1995; Hoelzle et al. 2003) as well as large scale temperature changes over the last
centuries (Oerlemans 2005). The available time series of glacier length are much
longer than series of mass balance measurements (however, the first systematic mass
balance measurements were performed at Rhonegletscher (Switzerland) already
in the 1880s (Mercanton 1916), and reconstructions of glacier mass balance are
available back to 1865 for selected glaciers in the Swiss Alps; Huss et al. 2008; Nemec
et al. 2009). For the time period beyond the beginning of the first glacier length
measurements, historical and geomorphological methods can be used to reconstruct
past glacier behaviour.
Historical and proxy records document a partly asynchronous evolution in temperature, precipitation and glacier fluctuations between European regions during the
LIA, and the causes of these temporal anomalies are yet poorly understood (Nesje
and Dahl 2003; Wanner et al. 2008). To address this question, highly resolved glacier
reconstructions going far back in time based on historical documents (e.g., Zumbühl
1980) or dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating (e.g., Holzhauser et al. 2005)
may yield valuable insights into past climate.
Such reconstructions only exist for few glaciers worldwide, depending on the
awareness level and the accessibility of the corresponding glacier and its surroundings. One of the regions of interest is the well-documented Mont Blanc massif.
Pioneering (glaciological) studies (main focus on the north side of the Mont Blanc)
have been performed by de Saussure (1779–1796), Forbes (1843), Viollet-le Duc
(1876) and Vallot (1900). Later on, Paul Mougin published his comprehensive work
“Etudes glaciologiques” (six volumes) from 1909–1934. A detailed description of the
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Mer de Glace and Glacier des Bossons (both on the northern flank of the Mont
Blanc, France), among other glaciers, can be found in the third volume (Mougin
1912). Finally, the important work by Le Roy Ladurie (1967) gives an excellent
overview of climate history and treats Alpine glaciers with historical evidence, such
as the Mer de Glace and the Glacier des Bossons.
As there were only few historical documents used by Mougin (1912) to reconstruct
glacier length changes, we present here a new and revised reconstruction highly
resolved for the Glacier des Bossons back to AD 1580. Many of the historical
documents collected (focus on pictorial documents from the mid-eighteenth century
until about 1900) are newly available and unpublished so far. This task is completed
by an analysis of the glacier foreland, based on the previous studies by Wetter
(1987). The result obtained for the Glacier des Bossons is finally compared with
the reconstructions of the nearby Mer de Glace (data back to AD 1570 available;
Nussbaumer et al. 2007) and the two Grindelwald glaciers (Unterer and Oberer)
in the Swiss Alps (data back to AD 1535, and 1590, respectively; Zumbühl 1980;
Zumbühl et al. 1983).
2 Study sites
The Glacier des Bossons is a valley glacier 7.3 km long that is situated at the northern
exposition of the Mont Blanc (French Alps). It descends in an unbroken continuity of
ice from the very summit of Mont Blanc (4808 m asl.) down to the valley of Chamonix
(Figs. 1 and 2). Besides Mont Blanc, the glacier is encompassed by other famous
Fig. 1 Recent view of the Glacier des Bossons, with Aiguille du Midi (1), Mont Blanc du Tacul (2),
Mont Maudit (3), Mont Blanc (4), Dôme du Goûter (5), and Aiguille du Goûter (6) in the
background. The Glacier de Taconnaz can be seen below Dôme du Goûter, the glacier tongue is
not visible (photograph by S. U. Nussbaumer, 17.06.2009)
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Fig. 2 Outline of the Glacier des Bossons as of 2001, and important geographical locations and
mountain peaks
mountain peaks such as Dôme du Goûter, Mont Maudit or Mont Blanc du Tacul. The
catchment area does not only feed the tongue of the Glacier des Bossons, but also
a smaller branch situated to the west named Glacier de Taconnaz, with a tongue at
higher elevation. The whole glacier system covers an area of about 14.6 km2 (Glacier
des Bossons: 9.9 km2 , Glacier de Taconnaz: 4.7 km2 ; all data for 2001). Table 1 shows
a comparison of the glacier’s characteristics with the Mer de Glace, situated next to
the Glacier des Bossons valley-upwards, and with the two glaciers of Grindelwald in
the Bernese Alps (Switzerland). Reconstructed glacier length changes of the Glacier
des Bossons will be compared with existing reconstructions of those glaciers.
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Table 1 Topographical characteristics of the Glacier des Bossons in comparison with other Alpine
glaciers with length reconstructions available back to the sixteenth century
Name of glacier
Glacier
des Bossons
45◦ 53 N,
6◦ 52 E
Length [km]
7.3
Surface area [km2 ] 9.9
Head [m asl.]
4,808
(Mont Blanc)
Terminus [m asl.]
1,420
Average slope [◦ ] 24.9
Ice thickness [m]
120
Response time [a] 9
Coordinates
Mer de Glace Unterer
Oberer
Grindelwaldgletscher Grindelwaldgletscher
45◦ 53 N,
6◦ 56 E
12.0
31.9
4,072
1,467
12.3
400
41
46◦ 34 N,
8◦ 05 E
8.9
20.6
4,107
(Mönch)
1,297
17.5
230
22
46◦ 37 N,
8◦ 06 E
5.3
9.2
3,740
1,380
24.0
150
17
Data: Glacier des Bossons: 2001 (this study); Mer de Glace: 2001 (Nussbaumer et al. 2007); Unterer
Grindelwaldgletscher: 2004 (Steiner et al. 2008b); Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher: 2006 (this study).
Ice thickness from Vivian (2001) and Linsbauer et al. (2009). Glacier response times were estimated
according to Haeberli and Hoelzle (1995) and Hoelzle et al. (2007). Note that Schmeits and
Oerlemans (1997) calculated a response time of 34–45 years for the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher
During the LIA, the tongue of the Glacier des Bossons, named “Glacier des
Buissons” (“buissons” = shrubbery in French) according to de Saussure (1786: 59),
reached as far down as close to the hamlets les Montquarts and les Bossons,
threatening people living there in the valley bottom. This fact led to the earliest
descriptions of the glacier. With the beginning of the first journeys into the Alps for
scientific and touristic purposes from the mid-eighteenth century on, the glacier soon
became a desirable object of study for scientists, artists and tourists. This explains the
large number of historical documentary data available for the Glacier des Bossons.
The Mont Blanc mountain range extends 50 km from Martigny (Switzerland)
in the northeast to St. Gervais (France) in the southwest, forming the watershed
between France and Italy and separating the uppermost catchment areas of the rivers
Rhône and Po. On the French side of the mountain range, the upper Arve flows
down the deep trough of Chamonix, with several glaciers (Glacier du Tour, Glacier
d’Argentière, Mer de Glace, Glacier des Bossons) draining into this river.
Besides the glaciation of the elevated areas with its glacier tongues reaching
far down into the valley, the geology contributes to the attractiveness of the area.
Already the German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe mentioned on his visit of the
valley of Chamonix in late autumn 1779 the granitic rocks which extend towards the
sky like nails. Moreover, the summit of Mont Blanc, consisting of an ice cap, is the
highest point in Europe west of the Caucasus, forming the crown of the mountain
massif.
The chain of Mont Blanc not only forms the watershed separating the catchment
areas of Rhône and Po, but also marks the border between two completely different
climate regions, the northern/western and the southern Alps. Climate in the valley of
Chamonix is typical for the western Alps and comparable to the Grindelwald area,
although slightly drier. The mean annual temperature of the Chamonix meteorological station (1054 m asl.) is 6.5◦ C, the annual precipitation amounts to 1238 mm
(1961–1990 period; data from Météo-France).
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Also for the Unterer and Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher, there is a wealth of historical documents (especially for the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher). These glaciers
are situated in the northern part of the Bernese Alps (Switzerland), exposed to
the westerlies. The mean annual temperature at Grindelwald meteorological station
(1040 m asl.), located approximately 3 km from the glacier front of the Unterer
Grindelwaldgletscher, was 6.1◦ C during the 1966–1989 period. Mean annual precipitation during the 1961–1990 period was 1427 mm (data from MeteoSwiss). Because
of the high precipitation (locally exceeding 4,000 mm per year), the Bernese Alps
show a relatively low glacier equilibrium line altitude (ELA) and are the mountain
range showing the heaviest glaciation of the Alps. Both the glacier with the lowest
front (Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher, though nowadays not dynamically active any
more), and the largest glacier of the Alps (Grosser Aletschgletscher) are situated
within this region (Kirchhofer and Sevruk 1992; Imhof 1998).
3 Methods and data
3.1 Historical methods
3.1.1 Determination of glacier length changes for the LIA
According to Zumbühl and Holzhauser (1988), the historical method, the glacioarchaeological method and the glacio-morphological method can be used to reconstruct glacier fluctuations before the start of systematic measurements. The historical
method uses three main types of sources, namely cartographical documents (i.e.,
maps, cadastral plans, and reliefs), pictorial documents (i.e., drawings, paintings,
prints, and photographs), and written accounts containing direct or indirect evidence of former glacier fluctuations (i.e., chronicles, church registers, land sale
contracts, travel descriptions, early scientific works on Alpine research, and others).
Examples for earliest glacier representations are known for the advancing Unterer
Grindelwaldgletscher in the seventeenth century (etching by Joseph Plepp and
Matthäus Merian, published in 1642; Zumbühl 1980), and even older for the
Vernagtferner (eastern Alps) in 1601 (drawing, showing the Rofental with a lake
dammed by the advancing glacier; Nicolussi 1990).
The glacio-archaeological method aims at finding evidence of former glacier
extents by archaeological remains such as old trails, passes, foundations of destroyed
buildings, or relics of water conduits. Dating is often possible with the help of
literary sources or by means of dendrochronology or radiocarbon dating (Holzhauser
et al. 2005). The glacio-morphological method, finally, comprises the mapping of
the glacier foreland and the moraines found therein. Major glacier advances are
reflected in moraines that are often still visible today. The age of moraines can be
determined either with fossil soils, i.e. overwhelmed vegetation surfaces that can be
dated with the radiocarbon method, or with fossil wood (trunks, rootstocks, roots,
bushes) by means of dendrochronology or radiocarbon dating (e.g., Luckman et al.
1993; Nicolussi 1994; Holzhauser et al. 2005).
For the determination of length fluctuations of the Glacier des Bossons during the
LIA, we evaluated historical sources and combined these findings with field evidence
(existing moraines, in agreement with the previous studies of Mougin 1912, and
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Wetter 1987). The reconstruction of former glacier extents based on the evaluation
of pictorial documents is described more in detail in the following.
3.1.2 The evaluation of pictorial documents
According to Zumbühl and Holzhauser (1988), three conditions have to be fulfilled
in order to obtain reliable results concerning former glacier extents:
1. The dating of the pictorial document has to be known or reconstructed,
2. the glacier and its surroundings have to be represented realistically and topographically correctly (which implies certain qualities of the picture and skills of
the corresponding author), and
3. the artist’s position in the field should be known.
If some of the said requirements are not met, the glacier front position deduced
from the document contains an uncertainty (i.e., if the exact location of the glacier
terminus is not possible, a range of possible front positions is obtained). Hence,
there is an error bar for each historical document that indicates the range of
possible positions of the glacier tongue. For instance, an archive text from 1580 (see
Section 4.1.1) states that the Glacier des Bossons “nearly reaches down to the plain”.
Taking the local topography into account, this gives us a possible range for the glacier
front of ±200 m.
Note that especially for oil paintings it is important to distinguish between the
time of the first draft in the field and the production of the painting itself later
on. Some artists liked composing motifs of their own in the foreground or omitting
unaesthetic frontal moraines. Although this is not always the case, the topographical
accuracy usually increases with the artistic quality. The works of art have thus to pass
a critical appraisal and only reliable documents have to be selected for interpretation.
A photograph representing the glacier front is obviously very valuable, but additional
information obtained by labour-intensive archive work is often needed to know the
exact date of the photograph.
Pictorial documents are evaluated with the help of distinctive elements in the
glacier’s surroundings, such as rock steps or mountain peaks in the background. For
pictorial document of high quality, this allows an exact location (georeferencing)
of the artist’s position. The location of the glacier front is then deduced using a
geographic information system (determination of the angle of view, ensuring of the
correct proportions). Note that the reconstruction of front positions and their dating
is often based on multiple evidence.
3.2 Historical data for the Mont Blanc area
In Europe, the historical sources concerning glaciers are more plentiful than elsewhere (Grove 2004). The density of historical material prior to 1800 highly depends
on the elevation of the glacier tongue and the threatening of settlements and
cultivated land due to glacier advances (e.g., Le Roy Ladurie 1967). Information
from travel descriptions started in the mid-eighteenth century and went on until the
mid-nineteenth century, when they were replaced by the systematic glacier front
measurements. Since the mid-nineteenth century, first photographs of glaciers are
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available, and together with modern cartography they constitute more accurate
sources.
The historical (pictorial) material appears exceptionally rich for the Mont Blanc
region and the Glacier des Bossons (more than 250 pictorial documents). This
abundance is due to the fact that the glacier reached far down into the valley of
Chamonix during the LIA. The glacier was an attractive object, either at the glacier
snout, or when climbing Mont Blanc since the rise of alpinism. However, as archive
material prior to the nineteenth century is not rare but often ambiguous and thus
delicate for interpretation, the material had to be selected carefully according to the
criteria mentioned in the previous section.
A wealth of documents newly discovered, from the 1770s until about 1900, has
not been used for glacier reconstructions so far. Excellent examples of glacier
representations of the Glacier des Bossons are the drawings by Jean-Antoine Linck
(1766–1843), Samuel Birmann (1793–1847), and Eugène Viollet-le Duc (1814–1879).
All three authors are very reliable, and they made exact representations of the glacier
from several points of view, and in different years. Exceptionally well-documented
is the year 1823, when Birmann documented the state of the glacier from different
positions (this is also the case for the Mer de Glace; cf. Nussbaumer et al. 2007).
In Fig. 3, the summation of all historical sources that were evaluated to reconstruct length changes of the Glacier des Bossons is provided (for more details, see
Appendix, Table 2). Note that there are many more (pictorial) documents of the
glacier that could not be used due to missing dates or inaccuracies.
4 Fluctuations of the Glacier des Bossons during the LIA and up to the present
Figure 3 shows the cumulative length fluctuations of the Glacier des Bossons from
1580–2005. The position of the glacier front is plotted relative to the LIA maximum
in 1818, measured along the flowline. The number, quality and character of the
available historical documents determine the uncertainty for each data point (dashed
lines). The curve is described in detail in the following section. Moraines mentioned
in Fig. 3 are discussed in Section 4.2.
4.1 History of the Glacier des Bossons as documented by historical sources
4.1.1 First descriptions of the glacier and cartographical documents
from the sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century
Many early written accounts are listed in the comprehensive works by Mougin (1912)
and Le Roy Ladurie (1967). Glaciers in the valley of Chamonix are advancing
and approaching cornfields in 1575–1576 (Le Roy Ladurie 1967: 108). In 1580, the
menace to the people is proved by the detailed (and notably first) description of
the glaciers of Chamonix by Bernard Combet, Archdeacon of Tarentaise (historic
province of Savoy). Complaints by inhabitants, which could not any more meet their
fiscal duty, made Combet get an idea of his own of the situation in the valley of
Chamonix. According to that report, the Glacier des Bossons nearly reached down to
the valley floor (see Nussbaumer et al. 2007, for more details about this informative
document).
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Fig. 3 Cumulative length changes of the Glacier des Bossons from 1580–2005, relative to 1818
(=0; maximum of the LIA). Dots were derived from reliable historical sources shown in the
compilation below the x-axis, where small horizontal lines indicate uncertainties concerning the
date of the document. Landmarks are indicated beside the y-axis (cf. Fig. 10). Data for the 1921–
2005 period from the Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement (LGGE) in
Grenoble, provided by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (www.wgms.ch)
In 1605–1610, a serious glacier advance is documented, although the devastation
of farmland near to the Glacier des Bossons seems to be less than at the glaciers
upvalley (i.e., Mer de Glace, Glacier d’Argentière, and Glacier du Tour; Kinzl 1932:
287). This is also confirmed by Saint François de Sales, bishop of Geneva from
1602–1622, during his missions in the diocese, and by a report of Nicolas Grandjean
(Mougin 1912: 45; Le Roy Ladurie 1967: 126). The advance culminated in 1643, when
farmland above les Montquarts was devastated by the advancing glacier ice (Mougin
1912: 48; Kinzl 1932: 287). However, there is no indication and no moraine proving
a larger glacier extent compared to the situation in the nineteenth century (the LIA
maximum occurred in 1818; cf. Section 4.1.3). In 1644, a benediction of the glacier
was pronounced by Charles-Auguste de Sales (appointed bishop of Geneva-Annecy
in 1645). Sporadic written accounts document rather large glacier extents until the
end of the seventeenth century (maximum in 1685), leading to a small glacier extent
at the turn to the next century, and to a subsequent re-advance around 1712 (Mougin
1912: 48; Le Roy Ladurie 1967: 149, 152).
A precise argument is possible for 1730, when the retreating Glacier des Bossons
is depicted in the first pictorial and cartographical document, the “Cadastre Sarde”.
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This first topographical survey of Savoy, initiated under the monarch of Sardinia,
Victor-Amédée II, and accomplished from 1728–1731 (Baud et al. 2008), is a
unique source for different applications in geographic, economic and social contexts
(Guichonnet 1955). The area of Chamonix and the Glacier des Bossons were
surveyed in 1730. The comparison of the plan with modern maps yielded an astonishing accuracy for certain areas, including the surroundings of the Glacier des Bossons
(Fig. 4). According to that cadastral plan, the glacier front was about 570 m behind
the maximum LIA extent in 1818, which is also confirmed by Mougin (1912: 46, 48)
and Le Roy Ladurie (1967: 170).
Another cartographical document is the 1742 sketch by Pierre Martel, an engineer
from Geneva. After the visit of the valley of Chamonix and particularly the Mer de
Glace by the two Englishmen William Windham and Dr Richard Pococke in 1741
(Cunningham 1990: 19), Martel drew the first specific though very simple glacier map
of the Mont Blanc area. This map was complemented by a side view of the valley of
Chamonix, and it named peaks and glaciers as a great novelty (Martel 1744). The
map shows glaciers as cascades of ice coming from a central reservoir where snow
and ice is accumulated, which was apparently quite a common perception of glaciers
in the eighteenth century (Aliprandi and Aliprandi 2007: 125).
Fig. 4 “Cadastre Sarde”
including the Glacier des
Bossons, representing the
valley of Chamonix in 1730.
The outermost LIA moraines
from 1818 and the glacier
extent in 2001 are added
(Archives départementales de
la Haute-Savoie, Annecy;
photograph kindly provided
by P. Deline, Université
de Savoie)
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4.1.2 Beginning of alpinism and glacier advance and retreat
in the late eighteenth century
From 1760 onwards, the Glacier des Bossons was advancing, as documented by a
report of the great natural scientist from Geneva, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure
(Le Roy Ladurie 1967: 184), and by the watercolour by William Pars, made 21–24
July 1770. Bordier (1773: 197, 219) describes the Glacier des Bossons fast advancing,
with an impressive and steep glacier front. Other evidence for the 1770s glacier
advance is given by Bourrit (1773), by the contour etching by François Jalabert from
1777, and by the works of de Saussure with a description for 1778 (de Saussure 1779:
387; Wetter 1987: 193). In 1780, William Coxe documents the glacier retreating again
(Mougin 1912: 48), and a coloured contour etching by Carl Ludwig Hackert from
1780 still shows the glacier close to the LIA maximum.
In the late 1780s, historical material is more abundant, which leads to a more
accurate delineation of the glacier’s fluctuations. Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth
(5 August 1785), Jean-François Albanis Beaumont (1787), Charles-François Exchaquet (1787), Christian von Mechel (1787/1790), Jean-Philippe Linck (1790), Marc
Théodore Bourrit (1798) and Jean-Antoine Linck (1798/1799) give us a detailed
picture of the valley of Chamonix. It was also the time of the first ascent to the
summit of Mont Blanc by the two Chamoniards Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel
Gabriel Paccard on 8 August 1786, and the third ascent by de Saussure and Balmat
on 3 August 1787. The traditional route to the summit of Mont Blanc follows
the Glacier des Bossons (Gîte à Balmat–Jonction–Grands Mulets–Grand Plateau),
which explains the high number of historical accounts and (pictorial) documents that
appear from now on and reveal the glacier in all its facets.
Two accurate oil paintings, by Jean-Antoine Linck (“L’extrémité du glacier des
Bossons”, made in 1799; Vellozzi 1990: 59), and by William Delamotte in 1802, depict
the Glacier des Bossons slightly advanced at the turn to the nineteenth century.
Moreover, cartographical documents from the same time period confirm the glacier
front position determined: “Carte physique et minéralogique du Mont Blanc et
des montagnes et vallées qui l’avoisinent” (1797–1799) by Jean-Baptiste Raymond,
“Atlas Suisse par Weiss et Meyer” (1800), and the Mont Blanc relief (around 1800)
by Ferdinand Rudolf Hassler (Rickenbacher 2007).
Summing up, the Glacier des Bossons was advancing by 450 m from 1760 until
1777, when its tongue reached a position roughly 120 m behind the 1818 maximum
(note that historical sources are few for 1740–1760). The glacier was in an advanced
position until 1780, and was retreating thereafter by 375 m until 1786. At the turn to
the nineteenth century, the glacier showed a minor advance.
4.1.3 Well-documented glacier advances in the nineteenth century
From 1811–1818, the Glacier des Bossons was highly advancing, as documented by
several independent sources (Birmann 1826; Viollet-le Duc 1876; Forel 1889; Ritter
2008). The very detailed description of the Glacier des Bossons by Samuel Birmann
in his sketchbook on one of his journeys to the valley of Chamonix reveals that the
glacier was advancing most in 1817 (3 or 4 ft in 24 h), covering arable land, and
retreating again in 1819 (Birmann 1826; see Appendix for full text).
There is a general consensus on the timing of the maximum of this advance (1818;
Mougin 1912: 48; Wetter 1987: 197). The advance is furthermore documented by
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several drawings by Jean-Antoine Linck (1813, 1816, 1817/1818) and Hans Conrad
Escher von der Linth (8 August 1816), and by a print by Mathias Gabriel Lory (1815;
Priuli and Garin 1985: 78). The watercolour “Vue de Glacier de Bossons de l’Aiguille
du Midi et du Tacul” by Linck (Dobiaschofsky Auktionen 2009; Fig. 5) shows the
glacier at its maximum position or shortly before, protruding into the forest at its
upper right lobe and forming an impressive glacier tongue. At the same time, Linck
documents on another drawing the devastation by the glacier at the right-hand side
moraine from 1818 (Fig. 6). At that point, a cross was erected in 1818 in order to stop
the glacier (Mougin 1912: 49).
The glacier advance from 1811–1818 adds up to almost 480 m. The following
retreat was, according to the local Venance Payot, fast at the beginning (Mougin
1912: 48). Five years after the nineteenth century maximum, several drawings from
different points of view by Samuel Birmann give a precise delineation of the Glacier
des Bossons in 1823. The rapid glacier retreat is clearly visible, as can be seen from
the barren land left by the glacier (Fig. 7).
A slight glacier advance is documented for 1835 (Viollet-le Duc 1876: 107/108),
however, reliable pictorial and cartographical documents are only available for
1829 (drawing by Edward Backhouse and map by François-Jules Pictet) and 1842
(drawings by John Ruskin). The glacier was increasing in 1845 according to the
Fig. 5 Glacier des Bossons
around its nineteenth century
maximum, portrayed by
Jean-Antoine Linck (“Vue de
Glacier de Bossons de
l’Aiguille du Midi et du
Tacul”; signed bottom right;
watercolour; 44.5 × 33.7 cm;
private collection; photograph
by S. U. Nussbaumer, with
kind permission of
Dobiaschofsky Auktionen
AG, Bern)
313
Fig. 6 Front of the Glacier des Bossons around its nineteenth century maximum by Jean-Antoine
Linck (“Le Glacier des Bossons et le Montblanc”; signed bottom right; black and white chalk, on
beige paper; 42.2 × 57.1 cm; Conservatoire d’art et d’histoire (CAH), Annecy, Collection Paul Payot,
LNSA 09; photograph by H. J. Zumbühl)
Fig. 7 Cut-out from the panorama from the summit of le Brévent showing the valley of Chamonix
with the Glacier des Bossons and Glacier de Taconnaz (to the right), dominated by the Mont
Blanc, drawn by Samuel Birmann in 1823. “J’ai choisi le panorama du Bréven entre les différents
que je possède, parce qu’il donne le mieux les détails de la chaîne du Mont-Blanc, tel qu’on le
voit ordinairement, et qu’il présente, si je puis m’exprimer ainsi, la face de ce colosse imposant”;
Birmann (1826) (“N:454. Samuel Birmann. Ad. nat. f. au sommet du Brévent 1823.”; pencil and
watercolour; 46.7 × 225.5 cm; Kunstmuseum Basel, Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. Bi.417; photograph by
H. J. Zumbühl, with kind permisson of Kunstmuseum Basel)
314
mountain guide Alphonse Balmat (Forel 1889) and measured in 1850 and 1854
by Venance Payot (Mougin 1912: 48). This second maximum in the nineteenth
century was reached in 1854, leaving moraine ridges that are 150 m behind the
1818 moraines. Important pictorial documents for the 1850 s are several drawings
by Anton Winterlin (from around 1850) and Alfred Guesdon, the map by James
David Forbes at the scale of 1:50,000 (published in Forbes 1855), and finally the
photographs by Frédéric Martens (from 1859) and by the French Bisson brothers
(published between 1857–1863; Chlumsky et al. 1999).
4.1.4 Glacier retreat since the end of the LIA
Continuous measurements of the glacier front were initiated in 1863/1865 by
Venance Payot. They document a retreat of almost 425 m from 1863–1874 (Mougin
Fig. 8 Front of the Glacier des Bossons in July 1873, drawn by Eugène Viollet-le Duc (Viollet-le
Duc 1876: 107; reproduction by S. U. Nussbaumer)
315
1912: 48). For that time period, the works by Eugène Viollet-le Duc are a very
precious source. Viollet-le Duc, primarily a French architect and theoretician of
architecture, was passionate about glaciers later in his life (Frey 1988). His famous
map of the Mont Blanc massif and his drawings and sketches were produced between
1868 and 1875, e.g. the sketch showing a frontal view of the tongue of the Glacier des
Bossons in July 1873 (Fig. 8; Viollet-le Duc 1876).
From 1875–1892, another advance by 410 m left a corresponding moraine ridge.
This advance as well as the consecutive glacier history until 1920 is reported more or
less continuously by Venance Payot and later on by Mougin (1912, 1925). Visually,
the glacier fluctuations are captured on classical photographs by Joseph and Georges
Tairraz from Chamonix. The turn to the twentieth century is also characterized by a
technology newly developed, the photochrom prints, which are the first photographic
colour images available (Fig. 9; Arqué et al. 2009). Very accurate and well-known is
also the “Carte du massif du Mont Blanc” by the French Vallot (map at the scale of
1:20,000; tongue of the Glacier des Bossons represented as of 23 August 1906; Vallot
et al. 1925; Vivian 1986).
Glacier front changes from 1921 onwards were obtained from the World Glacier
Monitoring Service (www.wgms.ch). These data are held and regularly updated by
the Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement (LGGE) in
Grenoble, France. Minor glacier advances peaked in 1921, 1941, and 1982/1983,
respectively. Note the remarkable retreat (by more than 700 m) starting in the 1940s,
and also the following re-advance by about 500 m until the 1980s (Fig. 9).
4.2 Glacier foreland and moraines
Several moraines were formed during the LIA by the Glacier des Bossons. Moraines
built earlier during the Holocene, and even the first LIA moraines (from the 1640s
a
b
c
Fig. 9 Glacier des Bossons seen from le Brévent a before 1906 (“Le massif du Montblanc vu
du Brévent”, cut-out; photochrom print; 27.0 × 80.0 cm; CAH, Annecy, Collection Paul Payot;
photograph by H. J. Zumbühl), b on 22.09.1983 (relative glacier maximum; photograph by H. J.
Zumbühl), c on 08.10.2005 (photograph by S. U. Nussbaumer)
316
and 1770s), are probably overwhelmed by the latest LIA glacier advances, as shown
by fossil woods found by Wetter (1987) at three levels in the inner flank of the
large right-hand moraine. Fossil wood found in the moraines of the Glacier de
Taconnaz proves glacier advances around 1630 and 1680 according to radiocarbon
dating (Corbel and Le Roy Ladurie 1963).
According to the historical evidence, the outermost (frontal) moraine is from 1818
(Fig. 10). A trunk of fossil wood overwhelmed under a large boulder of the outermost
moraine of the right lobe of the glacier was dated by Wetter (1987: 234) and confirms
the moraine accumulation of around 1820.
The moraine from 1854 is close to the maximum extent and well-preserved.
According to the map of the glacier foreland in 1911, made by Mougin (1912), also
the moraine from 1892 was well-preserved at that time. Today, it is only conserved
at the frontal part, as strong erosion still happens at both very steep lateral walls
(LIA maximum moraines bordering the glacier foreland). Throughout the twentieth
century, minor glacier advances led to the formation of three younger moraines,
which are, though, largely eroded (Fig. 10).
Fig. 10 Glacier foreland and LIA moraines (modified after Mougin 1912, and Wetter 1987) of the
Glacier des Bossons. Points of view of artists are given accordingly: (a) Jean-Antoine Linck (Fig. 5),
(b ) Jean-Antoine Linck (Fig. 6), (c) Samuel Birmann (from le Brévent; Fig. 7), (d) Eugène Viollet-le
Duc (from the other valley side; Fig. 8), (e) Photochrom Zürich (from le Brévent; Fig. 9)
317
5 Discussion
5.1 Glacier length records for the western and central Alps
−200
−400
−600
−800
Glacier des Bossons, this study
Minimum/maximum values
Mougin (1912)
−1000
Cumulative length changes [m]
0
A comparison of the new length curve for the Glacier des Bossons with length
fluctuations determined by Mougin (1912) shows a general agreement. However,
a refinement of the length curve was possible thanks to historical sources newly
evaluated, especially from the mid-eighteenth century up to the 1860s (Fig. 11).
Figure 12 compares the Glacier des Bossons with the nearby Mer de Glace
(cf. Nussbaumer et al. 2007) and two other glaciers richly documented historically.
Similar to the Mont Blanc glaciers, the extraordinary low position of the terminus
and its easy accessibility make the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher one of the bestdocumented glaciers in the Swiss Alps, and probably in the world (Zumbühl 1980).
The curve of cumulative length fluctuations, derived solely from documentary evidence, covers the period 1535–2004 and includes the two well-known glacier maxima
about 1600 and 1855/1856 (cf. Zumbühl 1980; Zumbühl et al. 1983; Holzhauser and
Zumbühl 1996; Steiner et al. 2008b). The reconstruction of the Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher goes back to AD 1590 and shows LIA glacier maxima around 1600, 1720,
1777/1778, 1820–1822, and 1854/1855 (Zumbühl 1980).
Both the Glacier des Bossons and the Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher react faster
than their neighbouring glaciers. This can be observed throughout the whole
reconstruction time. The climate impact on two adjacent glaciers is reflected
differently dependent on the size and slope of the glaciers (Kuhn et al. 1985). Both
Mer de Glace and Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher are larger and flatter than the
Glacier des Bossons or the Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher.
1600
1650
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
Year AD
Fig. 11 Length changes of the Glacier des Bossons compared with results from Mougin (1912)
−500
−1000
−1500
Glacier des Bossons
Mer de Glace
Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher
Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher
−2000
0
318
1550
1600
1650
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
Year AD
Fig. 12 Length changes of four well-documented Alpine glaciers, based on historical sources (Mer de
Glace: Nussbaumer et al. 2007; Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher: Zumbühl 1980; Zumbühl et al. 1983;
Zumbühl et al. 2008; Oberer Grindelwaldgletscher: Zumbühl 1980; Gletscherberichte 1881–2009)
All glaciers (except for the Glacier des Bossons) had their LIA maximum in
the first half of the seventeenth century. A distinct correspondence results for the
advances in the late 1770s and around 1820. Only the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher
shows its nineteenth century maximum around 1850. The retreat of all glaciers from
about 1850–1875 is unprecedented in historical time. After the shrinkage of the
glaciers during the twentieth century, also the perception of them has changed, in
the Mont Blanc area as well as in the valley of Grindelwald: from a threat to the
inhabitants when reaching down to the valleys, to possible disappearance from the
areas at lower elevations.
5.2 Climatic interpretation
Changes in glacier length are, in contrast to glacier mass balance, to be treated as a
more indirect, filtered, enhanced and delayed climate signal (“reaction time” of the
glacier tongue to a climate perturbation, based on the kinematic wave velocity; Nye
1965; Paterson 1994; Hoelzle et al. 2003). The “response time” on the other hand is
the time required for a glacier to adjust from one “steady-state” to another, following
a change in the mass balance (Jóhannesson et al. 1989; cf. Table 1). Usually this time
is two to three times longer than the “reaction time” mentioned before (Steiner et al.
2008a). However, it must be noted that the reaction to atmospheric conditions at the
glacier snout can also be more immediate in some situations, e.g. after runs of cool
summers (Matthews and Briffa 2005).
Figure 13 compares changes in the length of Glacier des Bossons with 20-year
low-pass filtered summer temperature and winter precipitation data (multi-proxy
−1000
−500
0
˚
−2 −1 0 1 2
JJA temp. anomalies [ C]
−200 0 200
319
Glacier des Bossons
Summer (JJA) temperature, 20-year low-pass filtered
Winter (DJF) precipitation, 20-year low-pass filtered
−1500
DJF prec. anomalies [mm]
1500
1550
1600
1650
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
Year AD
Fig. 13 Cumulative length changes of the Glacier des Bossons and mean summer (JJA) temperature
and winter (DJF) precipitation anomalies (reference period 1901–2000) from 1500 to 2000 (multiproxy reconstruction by Casty et al. 2005; grid point 45.75◦ N/6.75◦ E). Climate data were smoothed
by a 20-year Gaussian low-pass filter (bold lines)
climate reconstructions for the Alpine area by Casty et al. 2005). Alpine glacier mass
balances are largely controlled by summer temperature and winter precipitation
(e.g., Oerlemans and Reichert 2000). A simple comparison of the local minima and
maxima in summer temperature with glacier maxima and minima yields a frontal
time lag of 2–10 years for the Glacier des Bossons. The maximum cross-correlation
between these two records is reached when setting a 1–2-year lead of the summer
temperature signal relative to the Glacier des Bossons.
A similar comparison between summer temperature and the frontal changes
of the Mer de Glace yields a delayed reaction the glacier tongue of 11–25 years.
However, a cross-correlation analysis between those records is not significant. This
is in agreement with Reynaud (1993) who found, based on the analysis of the
glacier records since 1870, that the Mer de Glace had its minimum frontal position
11–15 years after the shorter and steeper Glacier des Bossons. The correlation
between the length records of Mer de Glace and Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher is
r = 0.81 (p < 0.05) when setting a 1-year lead of the Mer de Glace relative to the
Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher (Nussbaumer et al. 2011).
However, there is complex interplay between different seasonal climate parameters influencing glacier dynamics. Using a glacier-climate model based on neural
networks, Steiner et al. (2008a) showed that different combinations of seasonal
temperature and precipitation have led to glacier variations, and that the 1810–
1820 advance of the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher was mainly due to low summer temperatures. According to Vincent et al. (2005), who studied Alpine glacier
variations for the period 1760–1830 as a whole, the advance of glaciers was also
320
due to increased winter precipitation during that time, and glacier recession after
1830 clearly resulted from a decrease in winter precipitation and not a temperature
increase. On the other hand, the strong glacier melt in the 1940s can be attributed
to enhanced solar radiation (Huss et al. 2009; cf. also Nussbaumer et al. 2011, for a
discussion of historical glacier records and solar activity).
Other historical evidence indicates that the glacier advances in the late sixteenth
and early seventeenth century coincided with recurrent subsistence crises and multiple floods in the Alps (Pfister 2007). The extensive advance of the Glacier des
Bossons at that time devastated arable land, and complaints by the residents led to
the first descriptions of the glacier. Generally, the north side of the Alps was afflicted
by frequent cold and rainy summers, which were the result of a series of volcanic
explosions in the tropics (Luterbacher et al. 2004; Pfister 2007).
A similar pattern can be observed for the glacier advance in the 1820s. From 1812
to 1817, Viollet-le Duc (1876: 107/199) reports that at Chamonix, the winters were
long and cold, and the summers very humid with a lot of rain. The winter 1829/1830
was particularly rigorous. Volcanic eruptions in 1809 (unknown location) and 1815
(Tambora) were responsible for low temperatures in the northern hemisphere from
1810–1819, which was probably the coldest decade during the past 500 years or
longer according to Cole-Dai et al. (2009), including the “year without a summer” in
1816 (Pfister 1999). Superimposed to low solar activity during the Dalton Minimum
between 1810 and 1820 (Steinhilber et al. 2009), there is a volcanic forcing leading to
cold and humid summers in Europe (Fischer et al. 2007).
In the Alps, positive mass balances or glacier length changes correlate well with
low solar and volcanic forcing (Wanner et al. 2008). A negative regime of the North
Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) might be a key feature of cold Little Ice Age Type Events
(LIATEs; Wanner et al. 2000), causing glacier advances in Europe. Recently, Huss
et al. (2010) showed a significant anti-correlation of Alpine glacier mass balances to
variations in the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the related summer
temperature signal. However, glacier mass balances are also dependent on the hygric
regime (precipitation and evaporation). Winter precipitation in the Alps is controlled
by the continental circulation dynamics (Wanner et al. 2003). In winter, the NAO
is the dominant mode explaining most of the variability of the precipitation and
temperature fields over this area, i.e. a more zonal circulation with warm and wet
westerly winds or a blocking state with very cold and dry easterly winds. Most
favourable for positive mass balances in the Alps, though, is a rather meridional
circulation with a northerly to north-westerly upper air flow, bringing cool weather
with high precipitation. For example, the major glacier advances in the Alps from
1820 to 1850 coincide with predominant north-westerly and northerly air flow
(Jacobeit et al. 2003; Küttel et al. 2011).
6 Conclusions
Historical descriptions of glaciers are accurate, but limited in space and time. Historical material is only available in adequate quantity for those glaciers which drew
the attention of the people through their reputation and scenic attraction, reflecting
also the perception of glaciers at that time. This is the case for the Glacier des
Bossons and Mer de Glace (Mont Blanc area) as well as for the Unterer and Oberer
321
Grindelwaldgletscher (Bernese Alps). Using these data, a resolution of decades or,
in some cases, even individual years of ice margin positions is achieved.
The revised glacier length record for the Glacier des Bossons spans the time period
from AD 1580–2005 and shows high variability (fast reacting glacier). The Little Ice
Age (LIA) maximum extent was reached in 1818. Other glacier maxima occurred
around 1610/1643, 1685, 1712, 1777, 1854, 1892, 1921, 1941, and 1983. Pictorial
documents newly compiled, mainly from the 1770s until the end of the nineteenth
century, give valuable insight into the glacier’s fluctuations.
The reconstruction of the Mer de Glace extends back to AD 1570, with a
maximum glacier extent around 1644 (largest extent during the LIA), and a slightly
smaller maximum in 1821 and a second advance in 1852. The cumulative length
fluctuations of the Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher, derived from documentary evidence, cover the period 1535–2004 including the two well-known glacier maxima
about 1600 (LIA maximum) and 1855/1856. A comparison of the length curves
of the glaciers studied in the Mont Blanc area with the two Grindelwald glaciers
shows an astonishing simultaneity between the glaciers. In both mountain areas,
valley glaciers were threatening inhabitants from the sixteenth to the nineteenth
century, and becoming since the mid-eighteenth century a desired object of study
for scientists, artists and travellers.
Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank H. Holzhauser for field assistance and dating
of tree ring samples from the foreland of the Glacier des Bossons, R. Kunz for field expertise,
P. Hänggi, H. Machguth and M. Trachsel for very valuable comments on the manuscript, and P.
Deline for providing the 1730 cadastral map. T. Bader and B. Luckman are very much acknowledged
for proofreading. The constructive comments by the reviewers greatly improved the paper. A
great deal of institutions and archives provided access to the iconographic material. The following institutions kindly allowed publishing important pictorial documents: Conservatoire d’art et
d’histoire, Annecy; Dobiaschofsky Auktionen AG, Bern (J. O. T. Scharf); Kunstmuseum Basel
(Kupferstichkabinett). S. U. Nussbaumer has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation,
grant 200021–116354.
Appendix
Description of the Glacier des Bossons by Samuel Birmann
Aucun glacier de la vallée de Chamonix ne présente des tours et des pyramides
de glace aussi grandes et aussi bien coupées que celui qu’on a sous les yeux.
Du temps que les glaciers croissoient considérablement, ces masses étoient
prodigieuses, encore à présent elles surpassent en hauteur les clochers. Leurs
formes variables ont un caractère fantastique, qui doit frapper à la seule
inspection de ce dessin, fidèlement tracé d’après nature.
Le glacier des Bossons (Buissons) descend presque en ligne droite des
plateaux les plus élevés du Mont-Blanc, et la pureté de ses glaces, se conservant
jusqu’au bas, forme un contraste frappant avec les teintes foncées des bois de
sapins et de melèzes qui garnissent ses bords. La pente de ce glacier étant très
rapide, il est le premier de la vallée à croître et à se retirer. J’ai ouï-dire que,
dans l’année 1817, où il augmenta le plus, les glaces s’avançoient de trois ou
quatre pieds dans les vingt-quatre heures, et qu’elles couvrirent pour plus de
trois mille francs de bonnes terres cultivées; la moraine s’étendit au-delà de
322
tous les indices qu’on avoit conservés des descentes plus anciennes. Quelque
temps après, le glacier s’arrêta, se dégonfla peu-à-peu, et vers l’an 1819 on le
vit commencer à reculer; et à cette heure un grand espace de terrain couvert de
gravier et de grosses pierres sépare les glaces des terres labourables.
Les habitants de la vallée de Chamonix prétendent avoir observé que dès
l’année 1811 les glaciers ont commencé à croître, et qu’ils ont continué à le faire
jusqu’en 1817. Dans cette contrée comme dans plusieurs autres du Tyrol et de la
Suisse, on trouve accréditée l’opinion que les glaciers augmentent pendant sept
ans, et décroissent pendant les sept années suivantes. Mais la vîtesse de leur
accroissement dépend de plusieurs circonstances: la quantité de neige tombée
en est une; et il faut y joindre l’inclinaison du sol que parcourent les glaces, et
la distance d’où elles viennent; c’est ainsi que l’expérience nous apprend que le
glacier des Bossons se retire, tandis que celui des Bois augmente encore; et en
effet ce dernier avança jusqu’en 1821.
On passe le glacier des Bossons en trois endroits; en haut, en escaladant le
Mont-Blanc pour arriver aux grands Malets; en bas, on s’amuse à faire le trajet
pour s’en retourner par une autre route au Prieuré.
(Birmann 1826: accompanying text to aquatint sheet No. 15)
Compilation of historical data
Table 2 Summation of historical documents that have been used to reconstruct front variations of
the Glacier des Bossons within this study
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
1575/1576 Written source Local
1580
Written source
1605
Written source
1606
1610
Written source
Written source
1616
Written source
1643 (?)
Written source
1644
Written source
Owner
Literature
Archives départementales Le Roy Ladurie (1967),
de la Haute-Savoie,
Wetter (1987)
Annecy
B. Combet
Archives départementales Mougin (1912),
de la Haute-Savoie,
Blanchard (1913),
Annecy
Rabot (1914/1915),
Le Roy Ladurie (1967),
Wetter (1987),
Nussbaumer et al. (2007)
Local
Archives municipales de
Mougin (1912),
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Kinzl (1932)
F. de Sales
Mollier (2000)
Local/
Mougin (1912)
P. Mougin
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
N. Grandjean Archives municipales de
Mougin (1912),
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Le Roy Ladurie (1967)
Local/
Mougin (1912),
P. Mougin
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Vallot et al. (1925),
Kinzl (1932),
C.-A. de Sales Archives municipales de
Mougin (1912)
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
323
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
Owner
1664
Written source
1669
Written source
Local/
P. Mougin
Local
1679
Written source
Local
1685 (?)
Written source
Mougin (1912)
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Archives départementales Le Roy Ladurie (1967)
de la Haute-Savoie,
Annecy
Archives départementales Le Roy Ladurie (1967)
de la Haute-Savoie,
Annecy
Mougin (1912)
1742
Local/
P. Mougin
Written source
Local/
P. Mougin
Written source
Local/
P. Mougin
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Map (manuscript) (VictorArchives départementales
Amédée II) de la Haute-Savoie,
Annecy
Print
P. Martel
1742
Map
P. Martel
1760 (?)
Written source
H.-B. de
Saussure
W. Pars
1700 (?)
1712
1730
21–42
Drawing
July 1770
1772
Written source
1773 (?)
Print
British Museum, London
A.-C. Bordier
M. T. Bourrit Bibliothèque de Genève
1773 (?)
1774
Written source
Written source
M. T. Bourrit
M. T. Bourrit
1774–
1780 (?)
1774–
1780 (?)
Print
M. T. Bourrit Bibliothèque de Genève
Print
1776
Written source
M. T. Bourrit Schweizerische
Nationalbibliothek,
Bern
W. Coxe
1777
Print
F. Jalabert
1778
Written source
1779 (?)
Map
H.-B. de
Saussure
M.-A. Pictet
1780
Print
1780
Written source
Literature
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912),
Martel (1744),
Martel (1744),
Wilton (1979)
Bordier (1773)
Bourrit (1773),
Mougin (1912),
Priuli and Garin
(1985)
Bourrit (1773)
Mougin (1912),
de Saussure (1796)
Forel (1889),
Mougin (1912)
Zentralbibliothek Zürich,
Graphische Sammlung
de Saussure (1779),
Wetter (1987)
de Saussure (1779)
Schweizerische
Nationalbibliothek, Bern
C. L. Hackert Schweizerische
W. Coxe
Coxe (1789),
Mougin (1912)
324
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
Owner
Literature
5 August
1785
1786 (?)
Drawing
H. C. Escher
von der Linth
M.-A. Pictet
Private collection
Solar (1974)
de Saussure (1786)
1787 (?)
Print
1787/
1790
1787 (?)
Print
J.-F. Albanis
Beaumont
C. von Mechel
Schweizerische
Bibliothèque de Genève
Mougin (1912)
Relief
C.-F. Exchaquet
1790 (?)
Drawing
J.-P. Linck
1790 (?)
Map
C.-F. Exchaquet
Schweizerische
Swiss Alpine Club (SAC),
Genevese section
Musée d’art et d’histoire,
Genève
Kartensammlung
1794
1797–
1799
1798
Print
Map
S. Smith
J.-B. Raymond
Gouache
M.-T. Bourrit
1798
Print
J.-A. Linck
1799
Oil painting
J.-A. Linck
1800
Map
1800 (?)
Relief
J. R. Meyer/
J. H. Weiss
F. R. Hassler
1802
Oil painting
W. Delamotte
1802
1807
(1806)
Drawing
Map
1811
Written source
J. M. W. Turner
H. C. Escher
von der Linth/
M.-A. Pictet
S. Birmann
15 July
1812
1812–
1818
1813
1815 (?)
1815
Drawing
C. Ritter
Ritter (2008)
Written source
Local/
F.-A. Forel
J.-A. Linck
Anonymous
M. G. Lory
Forel (1889)
1816
1816
8 August
1816
Drawing
Drawing
Drawing
Map
Gouache
Drawing
Print
J. J. Calutta
J.-A. Linck
H. C. Escher
von der Linth
Kartensammlung
Swiss Alpine Club (SAC),
Genevese section
Graphische Sammlung
der ETH Zürich
Conservatoire d’art et
d’histoire (CAH),
Annecy, Collection
Paul Payot
Kartensammlung
Museum of the American
Philosophical Society,
Philadelphia
Musée-Château
(Beaux-Arts), Annecy
British Museum, London
Kartensammlung
Schweizerische
Aliprandi and
Aliprandi (2007)
Mollier (2000)
Aliprandi and
Aliprandi (2007)
Bouchardy (1986)
Vellozzi (1990)
Rickenbacher (2007)
Pictet et al. (1807),
Brandenberger
(2002)
Birmann (1826)
Private collection
Schweizerische
Graphische Sammlung
der ETH Zürich
Mollier (2000)
Priuli and Garin
(1985)
Mollier (2000)
Mollier (2000)
325
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
1816
Written source H. C. Escher
von der Linth
1817 (?) Drawing
J.-A. Linck
1818 (?) Drawing (5)
J.-A. Linck
Owner
ETH-Bibliothek Zürich,
Wissenschaftshistorische
Sammlungen
Private collection
Literature
Dobiaschofsky
Auktionen (2009)
Vellozzi (1990)
CAH, Annecy,
Collection Paul Payot
1817
Written source S. Birmann
Schweizerische
Birmann (1826)
1818
Written source A. Balmat/
Viollet-le Duc (1876),
A. de Luc/
Forel (1889),
V. Payot/
Mougin (1912),
E. Viollet-le Duc
Le Roy Ladurie
(1967)
1819
Written source S. Birmann
Schweizerische
Birmann (1826)
1820 (?) Drawing
Anonymous
Alpine Club, Picture
(English school)
Archive Dr Warren,
London
1820 (?) Print
J. Dubois
Mollier (2000)
1820/
Written source A. de Luc
de Luc (1839),
1822
Mougin (1912)
1823
Drawing (4)
S. Birmann
Kunstmuseum Basel,
Birmann (1826)
Kupferstichkabinett
1823
Print (4)
S. Birmann
Schweizerische
Birmann (1826)
1823
Map
F. Muletti
Istituto Geografico
Aliprandi and
(manuscript)
Militare, Firenze
Aliprandi (2007)
1824
Relief
K. W. Kummer
Bibliothèque nationale
Ritter (2008)
(1812)
de France, Paris
1825 (?) Gouache
J. Dubois
CAH, Annecy,
1825 (?) Print
J. Dubois
Graphische Sammlung
1827
Print
J.-L.-F. Villeneuve
Mollier (2000)
1829
Drawing (3)
E. Backhouse
Musée d’art et d’histoire,
Genève
1829
Map
F.-J. Pictet
Kartensammlung
1835
Written source Local/V. Payot/
Viollet-le Duc (1876),
E. Viollet-le Duc
Payot (1887)
1840 (?) Print
I.-L. Deroy
Mollier (2000)
1840 (?) Print
N. M. J. Chapuy
Mollier (2000)
1840
Map
L. Rendu
Rendu (1840),
Aliprandi and
Aliprandi (2007)
1842
Drawing
J. Ruskin
CAH, Annecy,
Hélard (2005)
1842 (?) Drawing
R. Weinmann
Museum zu Allerheiligen, Wetter (1987)
Schaffhausen
326
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
1845
1848 (1834)
Written source A. Balmat
Oil painting
L. F. Schnorr
von Carolsfeld
Oil painting
J. Guedy
1850
Observer/
author
1839–
1852
1850 (?)
Drawing (2)
A. Winterlin
Print
G. Loppé
1850 (?)
Map
J. D. Forbes
1850
1854
Written source V. Payot
Written source V. Payot
1855 (?)
Drawing
1856
Map
1856
1859 (?)
1859 (?)
1859
Written source
Drawing
Print
Photograph (2)
1860 (1859)
Print (3)
1860 (?)
Photograph
1860
Photograph
(1857–1863)
1861 (?)
Map
1862 (?)
Photograph
1862
Photograph
1863
Photograph
(1857–1863)
1863
Photograph (2)
1863–1864
Map
1863–1865
Map
1864 (?)
Photograph
1865
1866
1866
1867
Written source
Photograph
Written source
Written source
Owner
Literature
Forel (1889)
Österreichische Galerie
Belvedere, Wien
CAH, Annecy,
Kunstmuseum Basel,
Kupferstichkabinett
CAH, Annecy,
Kartensammlung
CAH, Annecy,
(Corpo Reale di Zentralbibliothek Zürich,
Stato Maggiore) Kartensammlung
A. Balmat
A. Guesdon
A. Guesdon
F. Martens
Alpine Club Library,
London
E. Ciceri, after
Schweizerische
F. Martens
Bisson Frères
London
Bisson Frères
London
G.-H. Dufour
Geographisches Institut
der Universität Bern,
Kartensammlung
Bisson Frères
Société française de
photographie, Paris
A. Braun
Bildarchiv
Bisson Frères
London
W. England
London
A. Adams-Reilly Zentralbibliothek Zürich,
Kartensammlung
J.-J. Mieulet
Kartensammlung
C. Soulier
Médiathèque Valais,
Martigny
V. Payot
Anonymous
V. Payot
V. Payot
Mollier (2000)
Forbes (1855)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912),
Kinzl (1932)
E. T. Coleman
Forel (1889)
Vellozzi et al. (2002)
Vellozzi et al. (2002)
Chlumsky et al.
(1999)
Chlumsky et al.
(1999)
Chlumsky et al.
(1999)
Chlumsky et al.
(1999)
Hugger (2009)
Mougin (1912)
Vivian (2001)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
327
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
Owner
Literature
6 August
1868
5 September
1868
Drawing
E. Viollet-le Duc
Frey (1988)
Drawing
E. Viollet-le Duc
Musée Lambinet,
Versailles
Médiathèque de
l’architecture et
du patrimoine, Paris,
Fonds Viollet-le Duc
1868
12 September
1869
Written source
Drawing
V. Payot
E. Viollet-le Duc
1869 (1863)
Map
J.-J. Mieulet
1869
1870
Written source
Written source
1871
July 1873
Written source
Print
Briquet
A. Favre/
Freundler
A. Favre
E. Viollet-le Duc
3 July 1857
1874
Drawing
Drawing
G. Loppé
J. Ruskin
1868–1875
Map
E. Viollet-le Duc
1874
1875
1876
Written source
Written source
Written source
Briquet
A. Forel
A. Balmat
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
20 October
1884
1884
20 October
1885
1885
10 October
1886
1886
Written source
Written source
Written source
Written source
Written source
Written source
Photograph
A. Forel
V. Payot
V. Payot
V. Payot
V. Payot
V. Payot
Tairraz
Written source
Photograph
V. Payot
Tairraz
Written source
Photograph
V. Payot
Tairraz
Photograph
Written source
Photograph (2)
Charnaux
Frères
V. Payot
Tairraz
Written source
V. Payot
1886
22 October
1887
1887
Médiathèque de
l’architecture et
du patrimoine, Paris,
Fonds Viollet-le Duc
Kartensammlung
Gubler (1979)
Mougin (1912)
Gubler (1979)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Viollet-le Duc
(1876)
Musée Alpin, Chamonix
Alpine Club,
Picture Archive
Dr Warren, London
Geographisches Institut
der Universität Bern,
Kartensammlung
Hélard (2005)
Viollet-le Duc
(1876), Mougin
(1910), Frey
(1988)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Forel (1889),
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
328
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
Owner
8 October 1888
Photograph
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
1888
Written source
V. Payot
24 September
1889
1889
Photograph
Tairraz
Written source
October 1890
Photograph
A. Balmat/
V. Payot
Tairraz
1890
October 1891
Written source
Photograph (2)
V. Payot
Tairraz
1891
September 1892
Written source
Photograph
V. Payot
Tairraz
October 1892
Photograph
Tairraz
1892
Photograph (3)
Anonymous
1892
October 1893
Written source
Photograph
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1893
October 1894
Written source
Photograph
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1894
October 1895
Written source
Photograph
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1895
Photograph
1891–1914
1895
October 1896
Photograph
(∼12)
Written source
Photograph
Photochrom
Zürich
Photochrom
Zürich
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1896
Map
1896
September 1897
Written source
Photograph
A. Barbey/
X. Imfeld/
L. Kurz
V. Payot
Tairraz
October 1898
Photograph
Tairraz
October 1900
Photograph
Tairraz
1903 (?)
Photograph
Frères
Photograph
Jullien
3 September 1904
P. Mougin
Literature
Forel (1889),
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Forel (1889),
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Private collection
Graphische Sammlung
Arqué et al. (2009)
Arqué et al. (2009)
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Kartensammlung
Cavelti Hammer
et al. (2006)
Mougin (1910)
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1910)
329
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
1904
1905
14 June 1906
Written source
Written source
Photograph (3)
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
23 August 1906
Map
1906
28 June 1907
1907
16 July 1908
1908
1909
21 July 1910
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
Written source
Photograph
Written source
Photograph
Written source
Written source
Photograph
Written source
Written source
Written source
Written source
Photograph
H. Vallot/
J. Vallot
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1914
1915
Written source
Photograph
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1915
1916
Written source
Photograph (2)
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1916
September 1917
Written source
Photograph (2)
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1917
September 1918
Written source
Photograph
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1918
September 1919
Written source
Photograph
P. Mougin
Tairraz
1919
September 1920
1920
September 1921
Written source
Photograph
Written source
Photograph (2)
P. Mougin
Tairraz
P. Mougin
Tairraz
September 1923
Photograph (3)
Tairraz
September 1924
Photograph (3)
Tairraz
September 1925
Photograph (3)
Tairraz
September 1926
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
23 August 1927
Photograph (2)
Rochebrune
Owner
Literature
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Bildarchiv
Kartensammlung
Vivian (1986)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1910)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1910)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1912)
Mougin (1925)
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Mougin (1925)
Mougin (1925)
Mougin (1925)
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
Bildarchiv
330
Table 2 (continued)
Date
Type of
document
Observer/
author
September 1927
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Owner
Literature
Bildarchiv
9 September 1928 Photograph (2)
Rochebrune
Bildarchiv
September 1928
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
September 1929
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
September 1930
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
September 1931
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
September 1932
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
September 1933
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
September 1938
Photograph (2)
Tairraz
Bildarchiv
5 September 1979 Aerial
Institut géographique IGN, Paris
photograph
national
25 July 1999
Satellite image
Landsat
Global Land Cover
Facility (GLCF)
1 August 2001
Aerial photograph Institut géographique IGN, Paris
national
Systematic frontal measurements since 1921 (written sources; LGGE, Grenoble) are not included in
the list. The list is not exhaustive
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The Little Ice Age history of the Glacier des Bossons

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